Kindergarten
by ReganX
Summary: Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray start school. This story takes place a year after 'Chicken Pox'. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note I: **Sorry it's taken so long to get this story started. I've been really busy lately and I've been neglecting the twins. Luckily, Season Three of 'Mutant X' just started on Sky One, so I'll have lots of inspiration.

**Author's Note II: **Jesse and Emma's first child will be born at some point in this story. If anyone has any name suggestions, please send them in. I'm having trouble deciding.

**Author's Note III: **This story takes place a year after 'Chicken Pox' so the twins are five years old.

Words in = Thoughts.

* * *

**Chapter 1.**

"Mommy, please."

"No."

"But Mommy . . ." Lexi drew out her words, hoping that whining would work.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but you have to."

"Don't make me, please. I look stupid in this."

"Lexi, honey, I told you this before. You have to wear your school uniform, just like everyone else."

"No fair!"

Privately, Shalimar sympathized with her daughter. The uniform for the private school she and Brennan had enrolled their daughters in was decidedly old fashioned, consisting of royal blue pinafores over white blouses, blue coats in the same shade as the pinafore with a matching blue beret with a white pompom on top, white tights and black patent leather shoes.

Her daughters looked like illustrations from the 'Madeline' books she had read when she was their age.

Needless to say, Lexi, very conscious of her clothes, was far from happy about her ensemble.

Judging from the mutinous scowl on Izzy's face, she was in full agreement with her twin.

"You girls look lovely." Emma tried to console them. Weighed down by the weight of the child within her, the psionic eased herself down into a chair, sighing with relief. "This kid must weigh a ton." She grumbled. "It was supposed to be here a fortnight ago."

"Babies come in their own time." Shalimar consoled her friend. "Not to suit us."

Emma scowled at her. "Easy for you to say, Shal, the twins were six weeks _early_. You got off lightly."

"There were two of them." Shalimar protested. "You're only having one."

"And I don't even know what it is." Emma lamented. "He or she has their back turned so Adam can't tell if it's a boy or a girl." She winced as her little passenger made his or her presence felt. "At least I know its legs are strong."

"Don't be kicking Aunt Emma." Lexi wagged a finger at the bump as she scolded.

As if in response to her commands, the baby stilled.

Emma gave the little girl a grateful smile. "Tell it not to hurt me when it comes out." She pleaded.

"Maybe later." Shalimar interrupted, taking the girls' hands and ushering them away. "Let's find Daddy and get you guys to school."

"Do we have to?" Izzy asked piteously.

"Yes." Shalimar told them firmly. "You don't want to be late for your first day of school, do you?"

"We don't mind, Mommy, honest." Lexi wheedled.

"I do. Brennan!" Shalimar called her husband, wanting to get going before the twins managed to 'convince' her to let them stay home.

Brennan, followed by Jesse and Adam, arrived in response to her call, each of them armed with a camera."

"Just a minute, Shal." Brennan smiled at his little girls, who looked far cuter than they could have imagined in their uniforms. "I want to get a few shots first."

The twins exchanged identical looks of horror.

"No time, Daddy." Lexi tightened her hold on her mother's hand and pulled her in the direction of the garage.

"Yeah, we can't be late for our first day of school." Izzy added hastily, hurrying to catch up with her mother and sister.

The last thing either of the twins wanted was for their embarrassment to be immortalized on film.

* * *

The Kensington Junior School, the junior branch of the school Adam had sent Jesse and Shalimar to when they were younger, had been chosen for it's security as well as it's high academic standards.

Parents were obliged to provide the school with a list of people allowed to collect their children, as well as photos of the trusted few. Prospective staff passed through an extensive screening process and none of the schools records were accessible to outsiders.

In addition to the school's safety procedures, Adam had implanted tracing devices in the girls and provided them with their own comm. rings, ensuring that, in the unlikely event of a kidnapping, he would be able to trace them.

He was confident that no harm would befall them in school.

Lexi and Izzy hadn't liked the idea of school.

Although they did some lessons with their parents, as well as with Jesse, Emma and Adam, they disliked the idea of being stuck in a classroom with a teacher for hours.

They had campaigned strenuously to be home schooled but Brennan and Shalimar, feeling that their daughters would benefit from contact with other children, had refused their requests.

"Okay, girls." Brennan pulled up outside the large Georgian style building. "We're here."

Grumbling unhappily, Lexi and Izzy undid their seatbelts and climbed out of the car.

Although Lexi would have died before admitting it, the sounds of the chattering and laughter made her slightly nervous.

Apart from the children she had met at the park, with who she had been briefly acquainted, her sister was the only child she knew. The prospect of being left in a school full of them was overwhelming.

Knowing that her quiet, shy twin would be more intimidated than she, Lexi reached for Izzy's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"It'll be alright." She whispered under her breath. "I'm here."

Izzy gave her sister a grateful smile. "Yeah. We'll be fine if we're together."

TBC.

_Author's Note: I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible. In the meantime, please review, let me know what you'd like to see happen for Lexi and Izzy in school ._


	2. Chapter 2

**

* * *

Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note I: **To tigereyes320 – don't worry, the baby will be born very soon. Thanks for your name suggestions. I've decided on the baby's sex and mutations but names were a problem. I think I'll be using one of yours.

Words in = Thoughts.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

It was easy enough to find their way to the kindergarten classroom. All they had to do was follow the noise.

Lexi and Izzy clung to their parents' hands as they approached the room, more intimidated than they cared to admit by the clamour emanating from the room.

It sounded as though there were a herd of wild animals in there.

Izzy shrank back as they reached the door, not wanting to go in.

Shalimar squeezed her daughter's hand reassuringly. "It's alright, Izzy lizard." She said softly, using her daughter's special nickname. "You're going to have lots of fun, trust me."

Izzy nodded bravely, blinking away the tears she felt pricking her eyelids.

She wasn't going to let them see that she was scared.

Lexi, though more than a little scared herself, gave her twin a reassuring smile, wanting her to know that everything would be alright.

Izzy gratefully returned her twin's smile, thankful that she would have someone with her as they embarked on this terrible adventure.

In a way, the twins were at a decided disadvantage, as they were starting during the second semester, whereas their classmates had been there since September, when Lexi and Izzy had been too young to be enrolled.

"You must be the Fox-Mulwrays." The teacher, a brunette in her mid twenties looked up as they entered, giving them a warm smile.

"How did you. . .?" For a brief second, Lexi was afraid that her new teacher was a telepath.

"You girls are the only set of twins enrolled." The teacher explained kindly. "I'm Miss Roberts. I'm going to be your teacher. So," She consulted her list. "Which of you is Alexis and which is Isabelle?"

"This is Lexi." Brennan, seeing that his daughters were struck dumb with uncharacteristic shyness, laid a gentle hand on his elder daughter's head. "And this is Izzy."

"It's very nice to meet you." Miss Roberts shook the hands the little girls extended to her before straightening to look Brennan and Shalimar in the eyes. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine.' She assured them.

There was a definite note of dismissal in her voice.

"Shouldn't we stay for a while?" Shalimar wasn't ready to abandon her children to the wide world just yet. "Until they've settled in."

"It's best not to crowd them." The teacher advised in kind, but firm tones. "I find that children settle better when left to their own devices."

"You have our numbers?" Brennan pressed anxiously. "In case one of the girls needs us?"

"Yes, Mr Mulwray." Miss Roberts moved closer to the door. "I wouldn't worry. Everything will be fine."

After kissing their daughters goodbye, Brennan and Shalimar reluctantly left the room, clearly no happier about the parting than Lexi and Izzy were.

Miss Roberts waited until they had left the room before shaking her head, torn between amusement and slight exasperation.

It was always the same; the parents were more trouble than the children.

"Alright, girls." She held out her hands to the twins, already unsure who was who. "Let's find you a seat." She looked around the room where four tables of four places each were laid out. "If you . . ."

"Lexi." The little girl supplied the name.

"Alexis." Miss Roberts stressed the use of the unabbreviated name. "If you sit down here." She motioned to a vacant seat at the table closest to the window. "Then Isabelle can sit here." She pointed to a place at the table near her desk.

Izzy whimpered softly in dismay.

Lexi put her arm around her sister's shoulder, giving Miss Roberts a fierce look. "We want to be together."

"But if you're together then I can't tell you apart." Her teacher said calmly, reasonably. "When you're sitting at separate tables I'll know who's who."

"We'll tell you." Lexi pledged, not prepared to leave her twin's side.

"Now, Alexis, you have to do as you're told in school." Miss Roberts began firmly. "You'll be able to make friends with the other children. Won't that be nice?"

Izzy looked ready to cry.

Lexi sighed inwardly. Her parents, grandfather, aunt and uncle had all stressed that they were not to use their powers in school but she felt that she was being left with no choice.

"Together." Her voice was firm and commanding as she looked her teacher in the eyes.

Miss Roberts gaze became misty for a moment before her expression cleared.

"Alright, girls." Her voice was cheerful. "Why don't you both sit down at the table by the window."

"Okay." Lexi assented, as though that had been Miss Roberts' idea all along. "Come on, Izzy."

Before Izzy could protest, her sister steered her over to their table and bagged two chairs next to each other.

Izzy waited until Miss Roberts had moved away to greet another family before giving her sister a half reproachful, half grateful look. "We're not supposed to use our you know what in school."

"I don't care." Lexi stuck out her lower lip stubbornly. "I said we'd stay together and we will."

* * *

**_Sanctuary, half an hour later._**

"Do you think they're alright by themselves?" Shalimar asked for the seventh time in as many minutes.

"I'm sure they're fine." Emma told her friend in a reassuring tone. "We should probably be more worried about their teacher." She patted her stomach as her unborn baby moved within. "You know, if this little one doesn't hurry up, I'm going to change my mind about having a natural birth. What do you say, kiddo?" She addressed her swollen stomach. "Are you ready for your grand entrance?" She felt a dull thump as the baby kicked in response. "Was that a 'yes' or a 'no'?"

* * *

**_Kensington Junior School, an hour later._**

Having learnt the alphabet and the basics of counting before their third birthday, the Fox-Mulwray sisters had found the early part of the morning insufferably dull.

For some reason Miss Roberts refused to accept that they knew their stuff and, rather than allow them to play by themselves, insisted that they join their classmates as they chanted the alphabet.

Lexi snorted in disgust.

If school was going to be this boring every day, then she was going to become a kindergarten drop out.

The two other children at the twins' table seemed nice enough.

Simon had won Lexi over instantly by offering her a Twinkie he sneaked from his lunch and Anna, a pixyish looking child with long dark pigtails bouncing against her cheeks, seemed determined to make an idol of both twins, who were by no means put out by her admiration.

"Alexis?"

"What?" Lexi frowned up at her teacher, who had dared to interrupt her conversation with her deskmates.

"It's your turn to tell the class a little bit about your family." Miss Roberts told her patiently. "Would you and Isabelle like to stand up and talk to the class?"

Lexi gave her teacher a sweet smile. "'Course."

Izzy stood up next to her sister, knowing that she could count on her to do most of the talking.

Lexi, a little orator in the making, cleared her throat before commencing her address.

"Me and Izzy live in a big house with our Mommy and our Daddy and our Grandpa and Aunt Emma and Uncle Jesse." She announced to her audience. "Other Grandpa doesn't live with us but he visits a lot and he brings toys. Our Grandpa is the smartest man in the whole world."

"He is." Izzy seconded shyly. "He has a lot of cool stuff in his la . . .office." She corrected herself hastily.

"Uncle Jesse and Aunt Emma are having a baby." Miss Roberts cursed inwardly, knowing that Lexi's statement would mean a lot of questions for her from her less well informed little pupils. "We don't know if it's a boy or a girl and it was supposed to be here already but it's being very lazy and not moving."

"Uncle Jesse says he hopes that the baby won't get into bad, being late habits." Izzy said solemnly.

"Aunt Emma says that we can help her take care of the baby if we promise not to teach it to play tricks." Lexi gave her teacher an angelic smile. "We play a lot of tricks. One time we . . ."

"That's lovely, girls." Miss Roberts interrupted hastily, not wanting to hear the details of the kind of trouble her new students got into. "Let's give someone else a chance to talk, hmm?"

"Yes, Miss Roberts." The twins chorused sweetly.

She regarded them with a mixture of amusement and fear.

They were an adorable pair, but she had a feeling that she had taken responsibility for a set of troublemakers.

She wasn't wrong.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note: **I'd like to thank tigereyes320 for providing Baby DeLauro-Kilmartin with a name.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Their Physical Education class did a great deal to reconcile Lexi and Izzy to the idea of going to school.

By mid-morning the half-feral twins had been restless, unaccustomed to having to sit still for so long, and itching to take part in some kind of physical activity.

When Miss Roberts announced that it was time to change for gym, they had practically bowled her over in their rush to get to the dressing room, emerging, less than a minute later, in the white T-shirts and blue shorts that were the school's P.E. uniform.

Needless to say, both girls were more than happy to give their classmates a display of their physical prowess.

"Alexis!" Miss Roberts was horrified. "Get down from there this instant!"

From her precarious perch on the top of the climbing frame normally reserved for the older students, the five year old gave her a quizzical look.

"Why?" Lexi was genuinely confused.

"It's dangerous." Poor Miss Roberts was wishing that she had not refused the headmaster's offer to take the sixth grade instead of kindergarten.

"Not for me and Lexi." Izzy told her solemnly. "We can climb _really _high."

"That's nice, dear," Her teacher made an effort to smile. "But I would prefer if you girls did the same exercises that the other children are doing."

"Why?" Lexi wasn't prepared to leave her lofty position without a good reason.

Izzy gave Miss Roberts a sympathetic smile, crooking her finger to get her to bend down. "Is it 'cause the others would be jealous?" She whispered softly.

Miss Roberts nodded gratefully. "Yes. You don't want to make them feel bad, do you?" She kept her voice as low as Izzy's.

"No." Lexi's feral hearing had allowed her to overhear the entire conversation. "I'll get down on one condition." Miss Roberts gasped as the little girl released her hold on the climbing frame to raise a warning finger.

"Name it." The thought that the child might fall terrified her.

"That you call us Lexi and Izzy." The five year old negotiator demanded. "Not Alexis and Isabelle."

"Yes." Izzy nodded sagely. "We're only Alexis and Isabelle when we're in trouble."

"Fine." The teacher nodded hastily. "Now get down from there, Al . . . _Lexi_.

"Okie-dokie."

The agile little girl leapt from the top of the climbing frame, landing gracefully on her feet.

Miss Roberts felt her heart leap into her chest and sat down on the nearest bench, her knees feeling like rubber.

The twins gave her a look of genuine confusion.

"What?"

* * *

**_Sanctuary, the same time._**

"Are you alright, Emma?" Jesse asked his wife, concerned by her pacing.

Emma sat down on the couch for a brief moment before standing and resuming her pacing. "I don't know. I just feel . . . restless." She rubbed her abdomen, attempting to ease the cramping she felt.

Shalimar, entering the room, took one look at her friend and smiled in understanding.

"Maybe we should get you to the lab, Em." She suggested gently.

Jesse shot his friend a look of confusion. "Why?" Shalimar glared at him. The penny dropped. "Oh."

"What?" Emma looked from her husband to her best friend, bewildered. Comprehension dawned. "Oh. You think . . ." A contraction hit, causing the young woman to double over in pain.

"That's right." Shalimar nodded grimly. "I think you're about to make the acquaintance of your son or daughter."

* * *

**_Kensington Junior School, an hour later, lunchtime._**

The Fox-Mulwray sisters had been more than a little piqued when their parents, aunt and uncle, all of whom had experienced the atrocity that was school cafeteria food, had insisted on packing a lunch for the two of them.

The twins had objected, not wanting to be the only kids in their class with a packed lunch but now, seeing the unidentifiable stew served to their classmates, they were very glad to dig into the sandwiches, salad and fruit their parents had packed and had no objection to digging into the candy bars Uncle Jesse had sneaked into their lunch boxes.

There were times, Lexi reflected, when the grown-ups were good for something.

* * *

**_Two hours later._**

Emma was in agony.

Her resolve to have a natural birth had disappeared after approximately five minutes, after which she had pleaded with Adam for an anesthetic of some kind – any kind.

Shalimar, the only one of her friends who could truly empathize with her situation, held her hand and whispered encouragement, while Jesse, desperate to help, alternated between having his hand crushed by his wife and trying to 'help' Adam.

Brennan, unnerved by his friend's agonized screams, had volunteered to collect the twins from and escaped the lab at the first possible opportunity.

Shalimar watched her husband flee the lab, torn between amusement and exasperation. "Wuss!"

"What can I do? What can I do?" It was killing Jesse to see the woman he loved in such pain. "Will I try to phase it out?" He asked, hating the feeling that he was helpless in this matter.

Even Emma, despite her pain, had to smile at that one.

"That won't be necessary." Adam told the younger man. "It won't be much longer now."

Emma groaned. "Easy for you to say. Oh God!"

"Alright, Emma." Adam kept his tone calm and encouraging. "You're fully dilated. It's time to push."

Had Emma possessed feral strength, neither Shalimar nor Jesse would have been left with an unbroken bone in their hands.

As it was, they were in almost as much pain as the psionic mother to be was.

"I can see the head." Adam's relief was plain. "We're nearly there."

Another push and the baby slid into his waiting hands.

Jesse darted to the bed, looking down at the red, squirming infant in awe.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He declared reverently. He glanced up at his exhausted wife. "The second most beautiful thing."

The baby, forced from its warm nest into a strange, bright environment, opened its mouth and wailed at the full pitch of what were obviously very healthy lungs.

* * *

**_Half an hour later._**

Not wanting his daughters to witness their aunt's labour, Brennan had prudently waited until he got the all clear from Shalimar before bringing them back to Sanctuary.

The twins led the way to the lab, eager to see the newest addition to the family.

Emma and Jesse were sitting side by side on the bed when Lexi tore into the room, Izzy following at a more sedate pace.

Emma looked up from the carefully wrapped bundle in her arms, smiling at her two nieces. "Hi, girls. We've got someone we want to introduce you to." She shifted the sleeping baby in her arms so that the twins could get a clear view. "This is Ryan." She stroked her newborn son's cheek gently. "Ryan, these are your cousins Lexi and Izzy."

"That's right." Jesse hadn't stopped smiling since his son was born. "They're the ones who set Mommy and Daddy up so you can thank them for bringing you here."

Izzy, slightly wary of the new arrival, retreated to her mother's side while Lexi, fascinated, approached, touching Ryan's chubby cheeks and the thick thatch of downy chestnut hair adorning his small scalp with awed fingers.

"He's so small!"

Emma gave a brief, inelegant snort of laughter. "Nine pounds isn't small for a baby, Lexi. He's nearly as big as you and Izzy were put together when you were born."

"Is he special?" Lexi asked, beaming as the baby boy clutched at one of her fingers.

"Yes, he is." Adam answered, looking at the monitor where the details of the abilities of the newest member of Mutant X were listed. "Ryan looks like Emma but his molecular side is dominant. He still has empathic abilities but they are nowhere near as strong as Emma's. He will be able to phase and mass like Jesse and, just to keep us all on our toes, he had propulsion abilities as well."

"A baby with superspeed who can walk through walls?" Brennan clapped a sympathetic hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Have fun, bro."

"Just wait." Jesse took his son in his arms. "In a few years, you're going to help Daddy kick Uncle Brennan's ass at basket ball, aren't you?" He spoke in a slightly babyish voice. "Yes you are."

Ryan yawned, wrinkling his tiny button nose.

Lexi stood next to Jesse, laying a gentle hand on Ryan's downy head. He opened wide blue eyes, regarding her intently.

"When you're bigger you can play with me and Izzy." Lexi promised solemnly. She leaned closer, whispering in his tiny ear. "And we'll teach you how to play tricks on Uncle Jesse."

If Ryan's coos were any indication, he didn't have any problems with that idea.

TBC.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.

**Author's Note: **To Quadrantje – Not yet. I don't know if I have the heart to put another troublemaker in 'Mutant X'

* * *

****

**Chapter 4.**

**_Two days later._**

Jesse's brow was furrowed as he concentrated on his task, as intent as a surgeon performing a particularly delicate procedure.

He held out an imperious hand to his 'nurse'.

"Baby wipe."

Lexi obligingly handed it over.

Ryan chuckled happily as his father cleaned him up, trying to touch the soiled diaper as little as possible.

"Powder." Jesse breathed a sigh of relief as he managed to fasten the clean diaper on his wriggling son. _/Thank God that's over! /_

Ryan's chubby features took on an expression of intense concentration.

Lexi wrinkled her delicate feral nose. "Eww! Ryan made another doodoo."

Jesse scowled at his son. "You did that deliberately, didn't you?"

The deceptively innocent looking infant just gurgled at him.

* * *

"Mommy?"

"What's up, honey?" Shalimar ruffled her younger daughter's hair. "You're looking very serious." She teased gently.

"Mommy, are you and Daddy going to have another baby?"

"We weren't thinking about having another baby, Izzy lizard." Shalimar answered honestly. "Not at the moment at any rate." She smiled at the little girl. "If you want a baby brother, you're going to have to make do with Ryan."

Izzy just scowled.

* * *

**__**

"What are you doing, Aunt Emma?"

Emma shifted the bag containing Ryan's toiletries onto one arm, balancing her son in the other. "It's Ryan's bath time, sweetie."

"Can I help?" Lexi hit her aunt with her most pleading expression. "Please?"

"Sure." Emma hurriedly thrust the bag into Lexi's eager hands.

In the two days of Ryan's life, Lexi had made herself indispensable as a childcare assistant. Jesse had said that if the little girl had been a few years older, he'd have hired her as a nanny.

Once she was home from school, Lexi tended to spend all of her time playing with her new little cousin and acting as Jesse and Emma's helper.

The adults were pretty sure that it was just a phase, that once the little girl had adjusted to the new arrival, she would quickly lose interest but in the mean time, the first time parents were taking full advantage of their small assistant.

* * *

**_An hour later._**

"Lexi?" Izzy poked her head into the twins' playroom in search of her sister. "Do you want to play Hide and Seek? You can hide first." She added persuasively.

"Maybe later." Lexi's expression was one of fierce concentration as she glued more glitter to her masterpiece. "I'm busy now."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making a picture to give to Ryan when he wakes up from his nap."

Izzy snorted in disgust. Lexi had already produced half a dozen similar gifts for the new arrival "Why bother? It's not like he can tell the difference."

"He can so!" Lexi flared up in defence of her new protégé. "Aunt Emma said he liked them, so there!" She stuck out her tongue.

Izzy rolled her eyes. "She was just making that up."

"Aunt Emma doesn't tell lies!" Lexi snarled, her eyes glowing feral yellow.

"I hate you!"

"I hate you more!"

* * *

A series of resounding crashes brought the five adult members of mutant X running to the playroom, convinced that someone was being murdered.

"Girls!" Shalimar was horrified to see her two daughters, normally best friends, brawling on the floor, Lexi yanking a handful of Izzy's hair and Izzy furiously scratching every part of Lexi that she could reach.

It was with some difficulty that Shalimar and Brennan were able to part their sparring daughters.

Shalimar pulled Lexi over to the table and sat down, restraining the small girl in her lap while Brennan scooped up a furious Izzy.

"What is going on here?" Brennan gave his daughters a stern look.

"She started it!" The twins chorused in unison.

"I don't care who started it." Brennan scolded. "It stops now. You two are not to fight, especially with each other."

"Why were you fighting?" Shalimar asked. Neither of the girls would meet her gaze. "Well?" She pressed.

"Nothing." Lexi muttered under her breath.

Shalimar raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Nothing? You were fighting like that over _nothing_?"

"Yes." Izzy set her chin firmly. "It was nothing."

Brennan met his wife's eyes before sighing in exasperation. "Well, whatever is going on, we expect you girls to work it out . . ."

"We were." Lexi protested.

". . .In a _mature_ way." Brennan finished, glaring at her. "No more fighting."

"Fine." Lexi scowled. "Can I finish my picture now? She interrupted me."

"_She_ has a name." Shalimar reproved gently. Lexi set her jaw firmly, clearly not willing to say another word. Shalimar sighed, knowing better than to push when her daughter was in that mood. "Go ahead with your picture, but behave yourself."

"Yes, Mommy." Lexi smiled sweetly at her mother, climbing off her lap and returning to her abandoned art project.

Izzy glared unhappily. "Uncle Jesse, will you play hide and seek with me?"

"Sure, kiddo." Jesse gave her a sympathetic smile. "Do you want me to count first?"

"Please." Izzy stalked out of the room, still angry with her twin. Uncle Jesse was okay but he took _forever _to find her. Lexi was much better at the game.

She blinked furiously, trying to get rid of the tears that were forming in her eyes.

If Lexi wanted to spend all of her time with a stupid baby, that was just fine with her.

She could have lots of fun without her.

TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.****

**Author's Note: **I am so sorry that I've been so long between updates. Work and other stories got in the way.

* * *

**Chapter 5.**

**_Kensington Junior School, ten o'clock in the morning, the next day._**

"Simon, will you tell Lexi to pass the purple crayon?"

"Lexi, Izzy wants you to . . ."

"I heard her." Lexi passed the requested crayon to her twin, rolling her eyes, a scowl on her pretty face. Her sister was being such a little kid!

"Simon, tell Lexi that I said thank you."

"This is stupid." Simon muttered. "Why don't you guys just talk to each other."

Izzy glared at her hapless neighbour. "Anna, tell Simon . . ."

"But Lexi's the one you're mad at." Anna pointed out heedlessly.

Izzy crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the other three occupants of the table.

She had thought that school, a big kids only zone, would have given her a few hours of freedom from Ryan, but Miss Roberts had already let Lexi give a speech extolling the virtues of their new cousin at Show and Tell and wasn't even stopping her making a card to celebrate Ryan reaching the advanced age of four days.

She felt like crying.

All she ever wanted was to have her twin, her best friend and staunchest ally back but Lexi seemed to have allied herself with her sister's rival.

* * *

**_Sanctuary._**

"I just don't get it, Adam." Shalimar's tone was troubled. "Why are Lexi and Izzy still fighting? They've never fought for this long before. Actually," She frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think they've _ever _fought before."

Adam patted his surrogate daughter's shoulder consolingly. "I wouldn't worry too much about it." He comforted. "Children always have their ups and downs."

"What I don't get is why Izzy is so against Ryan." Brennan said. "I'd have thought that she'd be the one cooing over him and that Lexi wouldn't give him the time of day. Izzy's the only one who's ever shown any interest in fussing over her dolls. I think Lexi scalped one of hers."

"I think it could be a feral thing." Adam mused.

"That doesn't make sense." Brennan objected as Shalimar bristled at this insult to her kind. "Aren't ferals supposed to be really protective of their families, especially the kids?"

"Like Lexi." Shalimar supplied.

"Yes, but ferals can also be territorial, very unwelcoming of newcomers." Adam pointed out. "And that's probably what's happening with Izzy. I'd say we had a fifty-fifty chance of either reaction with both of the girls. Although Izzy might be feeling a bit jealous. She is the youngest, after all."

"By less than six minutes." Brennan pointed out skeptically.

"But the youngest nevertheless."

"It makes sense that she's feeling jealous." Shalimar considered his words. "The girls have always been really close, kind of dependent on each other. Now Lexi has a new interest and Izzy's feeling left out."

"So what do we do about it?" Brennan always preferred to have a course of action to follow. "How do we sort it out for them?"

"We don't." Shalimar spoke up. "We give them a chance to work through this by themselves."

"What if they can't?"

Shalimar smiled wryly. "Then we butt in."

* * *

**_Kensington Junior School, a coupe of hours later._**

"Children." Miss Roberts clapped her hands to get her little students' attention. "Sit quietly now, class. I have an exciting, important announcement to make."

Although the noise in the room died down in obedience to her commands, most of the children slumped in their seats, awaiting their teacher's announcement with an understandable lack of amusement, given that Miss Robert's last 'exciting, important announcement' had involved a new set of readers.

"As you know, there's only six weeks left until Parent's Show." She told them, forgetting that, at five, six weeks might as well be six years. "The sixth grade is going to give a musical recital. The fourth and fifth grades will form a choir . . ." She paused, saw that she had lost the little interest they had had in her announcement and cut to the chase. "We will be teaming up with the first grade to perform a play." She beamed at her class, confidently awaiting the question of what play. "We will be enacting 'Noah's Ark'." She announced, realizing that nobody was going to ask. "Does anyone know what happens in 'Noah's Ark'?" She prompted.

Anna raised her hand. "The animals go in two by two?"

Miss Roberts beamed at her. "Precisely. Now, first thing we have to do is to decide who wants to be which animal."

A thundering chorus of demands rang through the room and students leapt to their feet, waving their hands about wildly, shouting out their choices.

"Quiet down now, boys and girls." Miss Robert raised her hand for silence, trying to decide on a fair way to proceed. "We'll go in alphabetical order."

Izzy knew exactly what she wanted to be.

She sat in suspense as David Bertram became a bat, Anna, who was lucky enough to be a 'C', chose the role of giraffe, and the two students who came under the letter 'E' made their choices.

She knew her twin well enough to know which animal would take her fancy.

_/It doesn't matter. / _She thought smugly. _/ 'I' comes before 'L'. I get to pick first. /_

"Now the Fox-Mulwrays." Miss Roberts smiled. "What will it be, Alexis – Lexi." She corrected herself hastily.

"A tiger." Lexi announced eagerly.

"Vey nice, dear." Miss Roberts looked across at Izzy, who slumped despondently in her seat. "And what about you, Izzy? A twin tiger?"

Lexi offered her sister a tentative smile, more than ready to bury the hatchet. "Come on, Izzy, it'll be fun."

Izzy glared at her. "No." She stuck out her lower lip. "Tigers are silly. I want to be . . ." She racked her brains trying to come up with an animal she liked. "A bear. A big scary one."

'Are you sure?" Miss Roberts didn't like giving up the idea of two adorable identical tiger cubs leading the procession into the ark.

"Yes." Izzy said firmly. "I don't want to be anything that _she_ is."

Lexi bit her lip, hurt that her overture of peace had been brushed aside.

"Whatever you prefer." Miss Roberts said, defeated, walking on to the next child, who anxiously awaited her.

Izzy watched her go, feeling more than a little unsatisfied with her victory.

_/I'm supposed to feel good when I win. / _She thought pensively. _/So why do I feel nasty? /_

TBC.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray and Ryan DeLauro-Kilmartin = Mine.

* * *

**Chapter 6.**

_**Sanctuary, the next day.**_

After he had guzzled down a bottle of milk in record time, Ryan, in response to his mother's pats on the back, let out an Olympic worthy burp.

"That's my boy!" Jesse crowed with an approving grin.

Emma gave her husband a mock serious look. "You'd better not be teaching our innocent little boy your table manners."

"I have perfectly fine manners." Jesse objected, taking a swig of soda and burping as loudly as his son had. "Isn't that right, buddy?"

Ryan gurgled happily, kicking his short legs.

Emma shook her head in fond exasperation. "The next one has to be a girl."

"The next one?" Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Em, Ryan's less than a week old. Let's get used to him before we start talking about having other kids."

"Don't you want more kids?"

Jesse allowed himself a small smile. "Yeah. I'd always pictured us with a big family."

The sounds of a blazing argument in progress came clearly from Lexi and Izzy's playroom.

"Promise me one thing, will you?" Jesse was deadly serious.

"What?"

"No twins."

* * *

Shalimar had learned a whole new respect for both marriage counsellors and hostage negotiators.

Although she knew her daughters well enough to know that neither of them wanted to keep up the fight that had been in progress for the past couple of days, they were both too stubborn to be the first to make an overture of peace.

The conflicts between the two little girls ranged from verbal and physical fighting to completely ignoring each other's existence.

She honestly didn't know which was worse.

Apart from mediating when the arguments worsened, she and Brennan had stuck to their resolve not to interfere, to let the two five year olds sort it out amongst themselves.

Shalimar was beginning to regret ever agreeing to that strategy.

There were times that she felt like tying the little girls together or isolating them on the dojo until they worked it out, or, at the very least, agreed to disagree.

"Give them time." Her mentor and surrogate father had counselled her.

"What if they never stop?"

"They will."

"But what if they . . ."

"Shalimar," Adam gave her an amused smile. "Do I have to tell one of my stories about you and Jesse fighting?"

_Nothing _was worth letting Adam getting into one of his reminisces.

* * *

_**Half an hour later.**_

Izzy was having a tea party with her stuffed animals in the playroom, so Lexi had their bedroom to herself.

The adults had suggested more than once that the girls should each have their own bedroom but the twins had strongly objected.

Lexi didn't know how long it would be before Izzy demanded her own room.

Lexi thought that it would be very lonely for her in a room by herself.

Even though they were at odds with one another, she still took comfort in her sister's reassuring presence in the bed across from hers at night.

She didn't know what she would do without her.

All she knew was that it would be very lonely.

"Have you been able to negotiate a treaty of peace yet?" Jesse asked, only half in jest.

"Not a chance." The elemental responded glumly. "I think Lexi's ready to make up, but Izzy is too stubborn to meet her half way."

"At least we know she comes by it honestly." Jesse quipped, making an effort to sound light hearted. He looked troubled. "I didn't think that Ryan would upset things so much for them.

"Don't worry about it." Brennan placed a gentle hand on the younger man's shoulder. "If it hadn't been Ryan, it would have been something else. In fact," He grinned wryly. "If they have to fight about a boy I'd rather they do it now than when they're in their teens."

* * *

_**An hour later.**_

Lying in his crib, his stomach full of milk, a warm blanket tucked around him, Ryan DeLauro-Kilmartin was very content with his world.

Full and happy, he settled back in his crib, and his eyes were drifting closed when he sensed the presence of a new arrival and beamed up at them.

At first he thought that it was his cousin, Lexi, who always brought him pretty things that he liked to look at, but the emotions he was sensing were very different to the worshipful adoration Lexi usually exuded.

The newcomer who wasn't Lexi frowned down at him as he lay in his crib, radiating unhappiness.

"I don't like you." Izzy didn't waste any words. "You stole my sister away from me."

It seemed very unfair to Ryan that she was accusing him when he couldn't talk to defend himself.

"Lexi and me used to do everything together, since we were born." Izzy told him bitterly. "We played together all the time and we played tricks on the grown ups and we even made your mommy and daddy kiss. If we hadn't done that, Aunt Emma and Uncle Jesse would never have gotten married and you wouldn't have been born. You should be grateful but instead you stole away Lexi from me."

Ryan's chubby features contorted in distress, her emotions making him want to cry.

He hadn't wanted to make people sad.

"Don't cry." Izzy's tone was one of authority. The last thing she wanted was for one of the grown ups to catch her in Ryan's room when he was supposed to be having his nap.

Ryan obeyed her.

"Lexi's not only my sister." Izzy continued, modifying her tone, but only slightly, to keep him from crying. "We're twins and she's my best friend. At least she _was_." She amended miserably. "And I want things back the way they were."

"I thought you hated me." Her sister spoke up softly from the doorway.

"I can't hate you." Izzy admitted. "I wanted to, 'cause you like Ryan better than me but I can't."

"I don't like Ryan better than you." Lexi objected. She glanced towards the crib and it's tiny occupant. "No offence. Ryan's cute and I like helping with him and playing with him," She continued. "But I don't like him as much as you. I thought that he might be lonely since there's only one of him. Daddy can play basketball with Uncle Jesse and Mommy and Aunt Emma can go shopping together and Grandpa can do stuff with all the grown ups and with us and you and me are twins and we play together all the time but Ryan's the only baby. When we were babies, there were two of us. There's only one of him."

"Poor baby." After a couple of days at odds with her sister, Izzy could appreciate what it meant to be lonely.

"I figure we have to take care of him." Lexi continued. "Aunt Emma and Uncle Jesse won't teach him how to do really fun stuff, like play tricks on grown ups. He _needs _us."

"I guess you're right." Izzy admitted. "If we're not careful, poor Ryan'll grow up boring and _good_." She made it sound as though being 'good' was the worst fate that could befall a kid.

"Besides," Lexi's eyes glinted mischievously. "Grandpa says that when Ryan learns to walk he'll be able to move really fast and walk through walls and everything."

"Wow!" Izzy's eyes widened. "He could sneak into the grown up's rooms and set booby traps and be back before they even knew he was gone."

"Exactly." Lexi said. "We hafta show him the ropes." She lowered her voice. "We're not supposed to be in here while he's taking his naps. Want to find something to do to Uncle Jesse?"

"We pick on Uncle Jesse all the time." Izzy objected.

"Aunt Emma?"

"Sure!"

The twins tore out of the room, headed for their playroom for a council of war.

Ryan yawned sleepily, his eyelids growing heavy.

Now that that mess was sorted out, maybe a baby could get some sleep.

TBC.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray and Ryan DeLauro-Kilmartin= Mine.

**Author's Note: **To Crystal 113 – Actually, Ryan's an empath, not a telempath. He can sense other people's emotions but not manipulate them. He takes after Jesse more than Emma as far as mutations go and, as well as phasing and massing, his main power will be propulsion, although obviously that won't manifest yet, not until he can walk.

* * *

**Chapter 7.**

_**Sanctuary, midnight.**_

"Lexi?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you asleep?"

Lexi giggled. "No, silly, how can I be asleep when I'm talking to you?"

Izzy paused, accepting her sister's logic. "Good point."

"You ready?"

"Are they asleep yet?"

Lexi took a deep breath, reaching out with her psionic gifts to gently touch the minds of the adults.

"Everybody's dreaming." She reported, wrinkling her nose. "Uncle Jesse really needs to talk to someone about all the dreams he has about spiders."

"Maybe we should do something to him as well." Izzy suggested temptingly. "Maybe fill his bed with spiders – real ones this time." She smiled fondly at the memory of her uncle's terror when he had found a rubber spider in his bed.

"No." Lexi shook her head regretfully. "I think he'd cry if we did. 'Sides," She grinned. "Don't you want to see Aunt Emma get mad?"

Izzy nodded eagerly.

An angry Emma DeLauro was one of the most entertaining things one could witness.

"Come on," Moving as silently as a ghost, Lexi slipped out of bed. "Let's get to work."

* * *

_**The next morning.**_

"Are you two okay?" Shalimar regarded her yawning daughters with a concerned expression. "Why are you so tired?"

"No reason, Mommy." Lexi told her sweetly, rubbing sleep sand from her eyes.

"I hope you didn't pick up some bug in school." Shalimar said, worried. "Maybe we should get Grandpa to check you two out."

"We're fine, Mommy." Lexi assured her, not wanting to be stuck in the lab while Adam ran his tests.

"Honest." Izzy finished solemnly. "We're just a little sleepy, that's all."

Remembering how she and Nikki had stayed up all night talking, despite Adam's rules about lights out, Shalimar let the matter go, glad that her daughters had made up.

"Alright then," She smiled at the two five year olds. "We'd better get going if you two don't want to be late for school."

* * *

_**An hour later.**_

Since the arrival of their adored firstborn son, Emma and Jesse had been woken at ungodly hours by a crying Ryan, and ended up sleeping a little later to catch up on sleep lost during the four o'clock feeds.

Moving quietly, so as not to wake the baby slumbering in his crib, Emma dressed as quickly as she could.

She tugged one of her shoes on, frowning as she rummaged through the closet for it's partner.

"Jesse?" After coming up empty handed, she glanced up at her husband.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you seen my left shoe?"

"Which pair?"

Emma scowled. "All of them."

* * *

_**Kensington Junior School, the same time.**_

"Do you think Aunt Emma's figured out what we did yet?" Lexi asked in a hissed whisper.

"Probably." Izzy frowned petulantly. "I still say we should have put shaving bream and itching powder in them."

"Are you kidding?" Lexi stared at her sister. "Do you _want_ us to have to clean all those shoes out?"

"I guess not." Izzy conceded reluctantly.

"I wonder if Aunt Emma's found any of her shoes yet." Lexi mused aloud. "We hid them really well." She paused. "Do _you_ remember where we hid them?"

"Nope." Izzy responded cheerfully.

"I'm glad you guys are friends again." Simon ventured, looking up from his numeric exercises.

The two little girls gave him a puzzled look.

"Why wouldn't we be talking?" Lexi asked, affecting confusion.

"We're twins." Izzy added.

Simon shook his head impatiently. "Girls are so weird." He muttered, disgruntled.

The twins exchanged an amused glance.

It was so much fun to screw with people's heads.

* * *

_**Sanctuary.**_

"Remind me to strangle your daughters." Emma muttered angrily, hunting behind the couch for her missing footwear.

"What did they do now?" Brennan asked, amused.

"Hid the left half of every shoe she owns." Shalimar filled in for her friend, nodding towards the psionic's bare foot. "No sign of them in the girls' room." She reported cheerfully.

"I found this in the freezer." Jesse announced, entering the room bearing a red sandal as though it was some kind of trophy and presenting it to his wife.

Emma scowled. "I hate those shoes." She grumbled, grudgingly accepting the proffered sandal. "And it's freezing cold and wet now."

"Not like you have much choice." Shalimar quipped.

"Hiding your shoes?" Brennan grinned. "That's creative. Creative and wrong." He amended, taking in the look on his teammate's face.

"Why don't we just wait until the girls come back from school, and get them to round up your shoes?" Shalimar suggested logically.

"And what am I supposed to do until then?" Emma demanded angrily.

Brennan shrugged. "Mix and match?" He suggested.

Seconds later a cushion was snatched up from the couch and made solid contact with the side of his head.

* * *

_**Kensington Junior School, a couple of hours later.**_

Miss Roberts smiled down at the class of cherubic five year olds, all of whom were absorbed in drawing portraits of the characters they were portraying.

She had handed out little picture books featuring the various animals involved and her little pupils were studying them as intently as Shakespearean actors trying to get in character.

"What's wrong, Izzy?" Anna asked softly, looking up from the impossibly long necked purple giraffe she had drawn.

Izzy scowled unhappily. "I hate being a bear." She grumbled. "They're big and furry and brown and boring."

"But you wanted to be a bear." Simon pointed out.

"Well, I don't want to be a bear now." Izzy pouted. "I wanna be a tiger like Lexi."

"So ask Miss Roberts if you can change." Lexi suggested sensibly, thrilled that her sister wanted to team up with her.

"I think she's getting someone in the first grade to be the other tiger." Izzy said dolefully. "And you can only have two of every animal in Noah's Ark. What if Miss Roberts won't let me change?"

Lexi put her arm around her sister, hugging her. "Oh, I'm sure that we can convince her." She said in a sweetly conspiratorial tone.

TBC.

_Next (and probably last) Chapter: The twins' school play. I don't know if there'll be another sequel. Please keep up the reviews._


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray and Ryan DeLauro-Kilmartin = Mine.

**Author's Note I:** To KatKnits00 – Good idea.

**Author's Note II: **To tigereyes320 – In their defence, that was Lexi and Izzy's only real prank during this story, and, if it's any consolation, I don't plan on making Ryan anywhere close to as much of a troublemaker as the twins.

**Author's Note III: **To Sunstar2 – There's no reason why you can't play that trick now, except that the prankee probably wouldn't appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 8.**

_**Sanctuary, six weeks later.**_

"Shalimar is getting the twins into their costumes." Emma reported brightly. "They look so cute."

Brennan didn't reply, he just sat there, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"What are you looking at?" Emma asked curiously.

"Something that will get me divorced if Shal catches me."

"No way! Can I see?"

"Yup." Brennan grinned, delighted with himself. He handed her the photo album he held. "School pictures."

"Aw!" Emma leafed through the photographs neatly labelled as 'first day at school'. "They look so nervous. And what is Jesse wearing?" She squinted at the photo. "Is that a _blazer_?"

"Look at the one of Shalimar." Brennan urged his friend, pointing at a picture of a familiar blonde thirteen year old who was scowling at whoever was taking the picture, looking as though she was planning on brutally murdering them in their sleep. "She looks like a Catholic schoolgirl." He chuckled. "How Adam was able to get them to leave Sanctuary like that is beyond me."

"Where did you get this?"

"Adam has a whole bunch of these hidden away where our better halves can't find and destroy them." Brennan reported cheerfully. "I sneaked this one out tonight when he wasn't looking."

"Hey guys," Jesse came into the room, carrying his precious camcorder. "We're all set and we're meeting Nicholas there. You ready to go?"

Unfortunately, Brennan and Emma weren't quick enough to hide the photo album before Jesse spotted it.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Of course not." Emma did her best to look innocent but she couldn't keep from laughing.

"He's going to kill us!" Brennan exclaimed in mock horror.

"No," Jesse grinned fiendishly. "I'm going to do worse."

Brennan's eyes widened as he realised what his friend had planned. "Jesse, come on, man, you don't want to this."

"Oh, Shal . . ."

Brennan clapped a hand over the molecular's mouth but it was too late.

"What's going on in here?" Shalimar's eyes flashed feral when she spotted the photo album. She scowled at her husband. "You are so beyond dead!"

* * *

"There are times when I think that that lot will never grow up." Adam said sourly, watching the four adult mutants scrap in the rec room, heedless of their audience.

"Tell me about it." Izzy regarded her parents, aunt and uncle solemnly.

"How do they expect us to behave ourselves when they're setting us such a bad example?" Lexi asked with perfect seriousness.

"I don't know, Lexi." Adam answered honestly, shaking his head in resignation. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

_**Kensington Junior School, forty minutes later.**_

Thanks to what had inevitably been dubbed 'The Battle Of The Photo Album', the members of Mutant X arrived in the auditorium a little later than they had originally intended.

Fortunately the much anticipated performance of 'Noah's Ark' was scheduled for the second half of the evening's entertainment.

Nicholas Fox, who had arrived nearly half an hour earlier than his granddaughters and their entourage, had already reserved seats for everyone in the front row.

Ryan, whom Jesse carried in a baby seat, had slept peacefully throughout the journey and the adults were all praying that he would keep up his good behaviour.

"We've gotta go to our class now, Mommy." Lexi announced, letting go of her mother's hand. "So we can get our make up on and get ready."

"Have you got everything?" Shalimar asked anxiously, brushing a non-existent speck of lint from her daughter's tiger print leotard.

"We're fine, Mommy." Izzy grasped the tail of her own tiger costume to avoid tripping on it.

"I'm glad Miss Roberts agreed to let you change roles, Izzy lizard." Brennan hugged his younger daughter.

"You girls didn't 'help' her with that decision, did you?" Shalimar asked suspiciously.

"Why would you ask something like that, Mommy?" Izzy asked in injured tones.

"Don't you trust us?" Lexi asked innocently.

"No." Shalimar's response was blunt. "I know you too well."

"We'd like to stay and talk to you guys, really we would." Lexi grasped her twin's hand, preparing to beat a hasty retreat. "But we've really got to go. We don't want to be late."

Before anybody could stop them, the two little tigers had fled to the safety of their classroom.

"You know that they 'convinced' their teacher, don't you?"

Shalimar grinned wryly at her husband. "Like I said, I know them too well."

* * *

_**An hour later.**_

Whoever had decided that scenes from Shakespeare would be a good act for the members of the fourth, fifth and sixth graders who had not wanted to take part in the choir or the musical recital had made a colossal error in judgement.

After seeing an eleven year old boy, a class clown in the making, performing Hamlet's 'to be or not to be' soliloquy, Brennan didn't think that he'd ever be able to read the play again without laughing at the memory.

Once the curtain fell on the miniature Prince of Denamrk, there was a twenty minute interval, during which a lot of crashing could be heard as the stage was prepared for the kindergarteners and the first graders' effort.

Ryan, startled by the resounding round of applause, had been taken outside by his parents for some fresh air.

"I guess this is one of the things I missed out on when Shalimar was young." Nicholas Fox commented sadly once his daughter and son in law had made a beeline for the refreshment stand. "Did she ever take part in any of these shows?"

"Once." Adam smiled sympathetically at the other man. "You haven't lived until you've seen Shalimar play the female lead in 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'. I don't think I've ever seen her so nervous."

"Talking about me?" Shalimar made a face at Adam as she handed paper cups of orange squash to both himself and Nicholas.

Adam kissed her cheek. "Do we ever talk about anything else?"

"Can't you guys bond over sports like normal guys?"

"Did you play sports when you were younger, honey?" Nicholas asked eagerly.

Shalimar groaned dramatically. "I give up."

"We'd better get back to our seats." Brennan suggested, coming to the rescue. "I'll got get Emma and Jes . . . Never mind." He spotted his friends, carrying a now sleeping Ryan, entering the auditorium.

The six – seven if you count Ryan – of them had barely settled in their seats when the auditorium lights dimmed and the curtain rose to reveal the six year old granted the plum part of God admonishing Noah to build 'the biggest boat in the world, 'cause I'm gonna make it rain really bad.'

Considering the youth of the performers, the play progressed with very few hitches, and Jesse was hard pressed to keep the camcorder straight as he was laughing so hard.

When Noah, half-smothered by his cotton wool beard, announced that he had gathered two of every animal, the audience murmured appreciatively, the parents of the animals anxiously awaiting their children's debut's.

"Two tigers." Noah announced in his loftiest tones.

There was a pause.

"Two tigers." Noah repeated firmly.

"Come on, Lexi!"

You didn't need Shalimar's feral hearing to catch Izzy's hissed whisper as she dragged her reluctant twin onstage.

"We're tigers." Izzy announced, seeing that her sister was struck dumb with stage fright. "We live in the jungle and go 'grr'. We can run really fast and jump really high." She improvised.

For a brief, horrible moment, the six adults who had accompanied the Fox-Mulwray twins were terrified that Izzy was going to give a demonstration of her feral abilities but thankfully, after waving cheerfully to her parents, the little girl dragged her sister across the stage to Noah's side and the rest of the animals proceeded to make their entrances without any further incident.

* * *

_**Half an hour later.**_

"You girls were wonderful." Nicholas bent forward to plant a kiss on each of the twins' cheeks, presenting each of them with a box of chocolates.

As Lexi and Izzy had their hands full with the charm bracelets from their parents, stuffed tigers 'from Ryan' and the bouquets Adam had given them in celebration of their stage debut, Brennan and Shalimar had to hold their candy for them.

"I wasn't good." Lexi looked downcast. "I was terrible."

"No you weren't." Shalimar said firmly.

"Yes I was." Lexi looked ready to cry. "I got scared and I forgot what I was going to say. Izzy was a good tiger, but I was a bad one."

"Come here, sweetie." Passing the box of chocolates to Jesse with a stern admonition not to eat them, Shalimar scooped her daughter up in her arms. "There's nothing wrong with being nervous, Lexi."

"Yeah," Brennan stroked his daughter's hair. "Your first time acting in front of lots of people can be really scary."

"Izzy wasn't scared."

"Yes I was." Izzy told her sister. "But I felt better because you were there."

"Really?" Lexi asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Izzy nodded solemnly. "'Cause I knew if I screwed up, nobody would know which of us it was."

Lexi giggled, despite herself. "I'm sorry you had to do all the talking for us both."

"I'm not." Izzy grinned. "Anyway, when I get scared, you do the talking for me so we're even."

Lexi smiled happily. "Thanks, Izzy."

"No problem." Izzy took her sister's hand in hers. "We're sisters. We have to stick together."

"You're right." Lexi concurred, cheered up by her sister's reassurance.

"Come on, you two." Brennan scooped Izzy, together with her armful of booty, up in his arms. "Let's go home."

THE END.

_Author's Note: I hope you all liked the last instalment in the chronicles of the Fox-Mulwray twins' lives (Can anyone think up a title for this series, please? The best I can come up with is the 'Little Problems Series' and that sounds crappy.) Since I don't know if there'll be another story, I can't give any hints about the next sequel. Thanks for all the reviews, and especially for all of your suggestions._

_PS. As a matter of curiosity, who's your favourite twin? It'd be interesting to see what the result would be._


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